A study of Kate O'Brien

Abstract:

This is a study of a local Limerick author, Kate O’Brien (1897-1974) and is part of a group project called Literary Limerick as part of the Bachelor of Arts Degree at the University of Limerick. My section of the project focuses on three novels from the Limerick author Kate O’Brien and includes a biography and analysis of her novels The Last of Summer, The Land of Spices and Mary Lavelle, the later two of which were banned by the Irish Censorship Board on the grounds of obscenity. I was interested in working together as part of a group that prompted each member to write about a Limerick author and establish a World Wide Web presence with a blog and Facebook page that will link to the group’s Literary Limerick project at the University of Limerick archives. This is an exciting venture as it will be the first project of its kind for the University.
I was interested in analyzing the following novels for their controversy, story and themes. The Land of Spices explores the nature of love, forgiveness and destiny within the discipline and beauty of an Irish convent. Mary Lavelle is also a love story, set in Spain where the main character’s loyalties and beliefs are challenged as she experiences falling in love for the first time. Both novels were banned by the Irish Censorship Board on the grounds of obscenity. The Last of Summer is a love story, which explores the nature of Ireland and its people through the eyes of a young French woman in search of her father’s Irish heritage. Each novel deals with specific ideologies and themes that O’Brien addresses from a viewpoint of a feminist writer in the late nineteen and early twentieth century